Chapter 16
Deep inside a dark subconscious, Carwyn sunk into a new memory to escape Selene’s giant tail as she brought it down on her.
At the last second it skimmed Carwyn’s torso, and the impact sent her hurtling downwards.
She gasped as she landed in a cushion of freezing white powder, and fresh, crumbling snow caved in around the little crater she’d made.
Immediately the cold sunk into her skin, causing the tips of her fingers to discolour and ache. It worsened as she dug her way out, shivering.
H-how cold is it? It had to be below freezing. I think I saw a mountaintop when I was falling.
Just as she popped her head out to check her surroundings, a roar nearby had her ducking in case Selene had discovered her already.
It was followed by a feminine shriek.
“Let me go, let me go!”
“Take this!” a masculine, booming voice yelled amid light-hearted chuckles.
Something heavy shook the ground as it landed just in front of Carwyn. Scraping claws and flicking snow had her peeking her head up over the wall of white when she knew it was safe.
A black dragon with an iridescent sheen to its scales lay on its side, while deeper within the mouth of a cave was a writhing mass of three, possibly even four, fighting each other off.
There were giggles and threats, and the one that had been tossed roared as it sprinted for the others before diving in.
Every one of them had black scales, but Carwyn noted they either had crystalline blue or red eyes.
One dragon in particular was being bullied by the entire group, letting out chokes and grunts, and every time it made space to flee, it was pounced on.
It looked like playtime between siblings. Very large siblings. One of which could be thrown on top of her at any second and end her within a heartbeat.
I better go. I don’t want to be flattened into a pancake.
This isn’t the memory I need anyway. Carwyn pushed to her feet and readied herself to jump to a new one.
“Kier!” a female-sounding dragon squealed. “No kicking the face!”
“Quit biting my tail then! All of you!”
A cacophony of giggles echoed around the cavern’s entry space, and the joy of it instantly made Carwyn’s heart swell.
“And no illusions!”
As if she couldn’t help herself – more than curious about him, his illusions, and his family – she turned to have a further peek into a memory she probably shouldn’t.
Now that they were apart, she saw four dragonesses intermittently sniffing the ground and bouncing over each other with flapping wings.
They were searching and hunting for something unseen.
Somehow, she recognised that none of them were Kier. He was missing.
“Got him!” one of them exclaimed, before jumping on an empty space.
Except her paws never touched the ground.
Instead, he materialised under her weight with a strangled choke as his chin hit the ground.
His face was towards the exit, pointed directly at Carwyn, whom he never saw.
Then his eyes widened in stark fear, and his claws gouged the brown-and-grey stone in panic as he was dragged by his tail.
He disappeared into a writhing mass of black scales and limbs.
Carwyn covered her lips with a fist, giggling. That was cute.
She shouldn’t have made a sound.
A head lifted, quickly shifting from grinning to glaring in Carwyn’s direction as the dragoness stood at the top of the mountain of bodies.
Dread crawled through her, and she hiked up her skirts to trudge through the thigh-high fresh snow in the opposite direction, only to squeal when she sunk up to her waist.
Carwyn imagined herself to be as light as air and to float, and she lifted off to escape.
She was nabbed even before her feet could be freed by a large scaly hand.
Just as she was turned to face a growling Selene, she made herself tiny so she’d slip through her clawed fingers, then landed on her feet in her original size.
Since Selene had brought her closer to the cave entrance, the snow here was only a few inches high. Carwyn grunted in pain when she collapsed forwards and her knees copped the worst of the impact.
“You should not be here,” Selene stated lowly, steadying herself on four legs.
“I know,” Carwyn whispered, scrambling to her feet and backing away a short distance.
“These are my thoughts, my memories, my dreams. What do you want with them?”
Carwyn shivered against the cold, curling her hands to her chest for warmth. Every second longer here caused her fingers to tingle with burning, frozen pain. “I need to know the hex they put on you.”
Selene snapped her fangs as she lowered herself to appear more menacing. Her slitted pupils drew in tight, spearing Carwyn with their hatefulness.
“Please. I need to learn what it is so I can undo it.”
“Then look at your texts!” she yelled. “You did the spell!”
“I didn’t! I know you don’t believe me, but you’re no longer trapped there.”
“Then why am I still asleep?!” Selene raised a paw to jab her claws against the side of her head. “Kier wouldn’t stand for this if I was free!”
Carwyn knew this to be a losing battle. She’d had such conversations with her before, but she tried anyway.
“I’m with him. Helping him!”
Selene chuckled darkly, a sound so deep that it seemed to radiate from her chest. “Now I know you’re lying.
Kier would never seek the help of a lowly, vile witch!
” Selene roared, swiping her claws in Carwyn’s direction and forcing her to put up a barrier to protect herself in the nick of time.
The strength of the strike against Carwyn’s magical shield threw her backwards into cold powder, freezing her more than she already was.
“Do you think I cannot see the trick you’re playing?
! Making me think you are aiding me just to take more than you already have?
! No witch would aid us. You maim! You destroy!
Whatever it is you seek, I won’t give it freely! ”
Carwyn got to her knees, but her hands were too stiff, too frozen now to uncurl her fingers. It felt like ice had sunk down to her bones, and she shivered so hard her teeth chattered. She even started to feel... warm?
“P-please believe me.”
“You will not make me relive it!” she screamed, pain and fear radiating through the high pitch of her screech.
She opened her fanged maw and a sucking sound came from the back of her dark-pink throat.
Carwyn couldn’t move.
She let go of the spell at the last second, and it threw her out of Selene’s memory. She landed against a malleable wall, and her breath fogged out as she curled forward around her frozen fingers, whimpering at the agony.
“S-so cold,” she rasped, shaking on her knees.
She blew on her knuckles, but even her breaths were chilled as she rocked, hoping movement would warm her.
“Carwyn,” Kier called from nearby, startling her.
She looked to her left, and her eyes bounced over his smaller form; he was lying behind her on the ground. He definitely hadn’t been there when she’d first knelt here. His scaled brow was already furrowed, but she couldn’t think past the agonizing coldness in her limbs as she trembled.
Heat radiated against her back, and she thought it might be the only thing stopping her from going into shock. His tail had wrapped around her knees, and it, too, was stopping her from being totally frozen.
The temperature must have been low in the memory, and the altitude high, for it to have sunk into her bones so deeply and so swiftly.
The adrenaline must have stopped me from noticing how quickly I was suffering.
She was out of the snow, but the coldness of his cave, the stone beneath her, and the fact that she’d depleted her internal warmth...
Nothing but him and this informal embrace could help her, yet she didn’t dare turn to him. And she didn’t understand why he was there in the first place.
He grabbed her shoulder and drew her onto her side, facing him, bringing her into his body, his warmth. Carwyn shivered, only to sob when the backs of her knuckles touched intense heat, just as he gave a high-pitched yelp.
They were too hot and too cold for each other.
She whimpered as she curled her hands deeper into her chest to avoid direct contact with his scales, hoping the subtler warmth of the air surrounding him would thaw her at a slower, more tolerable rate.
He didn’t throw his arm around her, but he did slide a wing over. It was like a soft, velvety blanket, and it pulsed above her with the tiniest flutter of his heartbeat.
“S-sorry,” Carwyn whispered, clenching her eyes shut.
I doubt he truly wishes to lie with me. But she was so utterly thankful as she snuggled in.
She squirmed with lingering discomfort beneath his wing and against his body.
Her clothing made his heat more bearable; it was a barrier, and it reminded her of her empathetic abilities.
Only her head rested on his strong, muscled biceps, cushioned by her braid.
Not even her nose or forehead could stand the direct contact.
Not until she started to warm on her own, his heat slowly sinking in until the stiffness in her limbs dissipated.
Her hands were the last to stop tingling with shards of pain, and they loosened in tension as she pressed against his scales when she could finally stand it.
She couldn’t help bringing herself in closer to desperately erase the last of the chills.
What had first pained her now felt sublime. He’s so damn warm. She buried her face against him and rested after the final shiver tore through her. Lethargy caused her eyelids to droop when she opened them.
She thought she’d only see darkness, but the leathery patagium of his wings had a red tinge. She wanted to caress the thick skin and see if it was as velvety as it appeared.
Minutes ticked by, and her mind whirled with thoughts.
So that’s why she won’t let me in. Selene didn’t want to relive the memory. I don’t know how to get through to her then. How could Carwyn so callously ask someone to relive such a thing?